Garment hanger



Aug. 8, 1950 H. J. THRUSH 2,518,098

GARMENT HANGER Filed NOV. 8, 1947 2 Sheets- -Sheet 1 H. J. THRUSHGARMENT HANGER Aug. 8, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 8, 1947 PatentedAug. 8, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GARMENT HANGER Harold J.Thrush, Gary, Ind. Application November 8, 1947, Serial No. 784,893

6 Claims. (Cl. 223-96) The present invention relates generally togarment hangers and in particular to an improved garment hanger which isadapted to hold several garments at one time and in such manner that onegarment can be removed without removing ordisturbing any of the othergarments on the hanger.

Conventional hangers for holding men's trousers or pants and women'sskirt are designed for a single garment. Such hangers frequentlycomprise a pair. of arms or bars and a device for causing the arms orbars to be brought together so as firmly to clamp or grasp the garmentbetween their adjacent. faces. The clamping arms are secured to a hookso that the hanger can be hung upon a clothes rod or some such similarsupport. Another type of hanger comprises a bar to which is secured apair of spring type clips which may be opened so as removably to receiveandhold a pair of trousers or a skirt. These prior art hangers arecommon and well known and have received commercial acceptance, but theyhave certain disadvantages which the hanger of the present inventionovercomes.

Frequently a person finds it necessary to hang two garments or more onthe same hanger, particularly when he has not enough hangers orinsuflicient space on the clothes rod prevents the use of two hangers.-In such cases two or three garments are hung from between the clampingarms or bars or from the clips. Since these prior art clothes hangersare adapted to hold but a single garment, it not infrequently happens,particularly when the garments are of heavy weight or comprise severalfolds of cloth, that the normal capacity of the hanger is exceeded andthe means fOr applying the clamping pressure has insuflicient force tomaintain the clamping action. Then all of the garments fall to thefloor, becoming soiled and mussed. Furthermore, when a single capacitygarment hanger of the prior art type is used for holding twogarmentssuch as two pairs of trousers or two skirts, in order to remove one ofthe two garments it is necessary to remove both and then replace the onewhich is not desired. v

Another disadvantage attendant upon use of hangers of single garmentcapacity is that when a number of garments are hung from a clothes rod,one from eachhanger, the space that the hangers occupy is considerablygreater than the space which would be taken up by the garments alone.This is due to the construction of the hangers whereby the trousers orskirt is grasped between a pair of bars, and consequently th space 2which is occupied by the garment is increased by the additional spacerequirement of the hanger itself.

It is, therefore, a principal object of the pres,- ent invention toprovide a garment hanger from which a plurality of garments may be hungand which overcomes all of the disadvantages attendant upon the singlegarment capacity hangers of the prior art. 7

It is a further object to provide an improved garment hanger havingmeans for securing a plurality of garments in hanging position so thateach garment can be removed without the necessity of removing ordisturbing any other garment,

It is a further object to provide an improved garment hanger from whicha multiplicity of garments can be hung so that each garment is sup-,ported independently of the other garments and all of the garments hangso that none of them become mussed, soiled or wrinkled.

Still another object is to-provide an improved garment hanger for thepurpose of holding a multiplicity of garments in such a manner that whenhung upon a clothes rod the hanger and garments take up less room in thestorage space than the garments would if each were hung from a separatehanger.

It is still another object of this invention to provide an improvedmultiple capacity garment hanger which is adapted to hold a plurality ofmen's trousers or womens skirts or a combination of mens trousers andwomens skirts and is adapted to accommodate them regardless of thenumber of thicknesses of cloth or the weight of the cloth from which thegarment is made.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide animproved garment hanger which is simple in construction and economicalto manufacture.

A still further object is to provide an improved garment hangerthe mainbody of which may be formed from a single piece of material.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings inwhich: v

Fig. 1 is a perspective-view of one form of the improved garment hangerof the present invention showing the manner in which the hanger holds aplurality of garments;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal cross-sectional view, on a slightly enlargedscale, of the garment hanger illustrated in Fig. land may be consideredas being taken substantially .along the line 22 of Fig. 1, looking inthe direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, illustrating another form of thepresent invention;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal cross-sectional View of the garment hanger shownin Fig. 3 and may be considered as being taken substantially along theline 44 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view on a greatly enlarged scaleillustrating in .detail :the swivel mountingionsecuring the hook-'itofthetmainbody of the hanger, and may be considered as being takensubstantially along the lines 5-5 of Fig. 3,

looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring primarily to that form of the-invention illustrated in Figs. 1and 2, referenceechare acter l0 indicates generally the improved hangerof the present invention which is show-n to corn or semi-circular ends26..and 28. CThe'standard l2.maybe "formed of aSingleJpiece of wire ofsufficient diametert'o carr l'the weightiirhic'his to beheld by thehanger andbentf'tothe shape shown in Fig.1. Thesadjacentendsof' the wireare preferably br-azedtoclosethe loop.

Each of' the .clamps Mis formedofe-single piece of wire benttto'theshapeshown mostcleariy in'Fig. 2'. "Thus, each'clamp. comprises-apair' of arms 30, 32 whichet" one eridzare interconnected by a loop34..Qpposite' the 100111-34" the termini of the arms 30,32 are d'e-forme'dat 38"to-a knob or ball. shape so' thatthe. free ends of the'arms '30and 32' do not .present sharp edges "which-could catch' upon oritear'the garments. "Furthermore, theseknobs give 'anattractive' ppearanceto-the hanger.

Intermediate their free ends- "and the 1oo -34 the arms and 32 areprovidedw-it-h oppositely and outwardly formed relativelyshori; curvedsections" 38 so' as to provide a space art-approximately the center ofeach of thec'lamps l Mto accommodatethe- "add itional material' presentin the'side seams of'mens' 'trousers. 'Eachof the arms an and 32converge toward the free ends so that they havea-poi-nt-ofi contact at4'5 adjacent the=endswhen=no garment is'h'eldb'ythe cl-amp. *The' arms'simila-rly converge toward the loop-34 but are spaced apart' slightly:at' 4'! adjacent the loop. This partici' rlar shape-insures that thefree ends of the arms 30, 32 willbe urged toward each-other withenoughpressure firmly to hold" the garment. The spaoing at l I is siiffi cientto permit insertion ofithe garment'yet. the clampingpressurefiexerted bythe-arms 30, 32 by virtueof the loop Man'ddfists 38-=actss1ifficiehtlyuniformlyalong the clamp M to hol d the garment so that it hangsstraight down.

Each-clamp l 4 issecured "to -the*stan'dard I? y the arm "30 which isbrazed' to the members Hand 24. The arm 30positionedagainst the standardl2 so that'-the-"offsetportioniifl'lies between the-"members 22 and 24,-thus centering the clamp M'relative to the support.

"Theclamps M are arranged so that they are on' alternate sides of thestandard i2; that is, so that thetop clamp MA is" on the fai 'side' ofthe standard [2 (Fig. 1), clamp MB is on the near side, clamp MC is onthe far side, and clamp MD is on the near side, giving an alternatearrangement. For clarity of illustration, only a single pair of trousershas been shown by full lines, hung from one of the clamps. However, itwill be appreciated that if a pair of trousers is hung from the clampMC, a pair of trousers hung from the clamp I4Awill overlie theepairihungfrom thelower rclamp. This visjlikewisetrue of the clamps MD and I 4B.It will be further appre- ':ciated that a pair of trousers, forinstance, hung from clamp MB can be removed without dis- "tuibihga pairheld by the clamp MA or any of .theothenclamps. It is a relatively easymatter to remove the trousers from the clamp MC even though there' be apair on the clamp MA and overlying the pair which is being removed. Itis clear that any garment which is hung from any one of the four clampscan be removed without removing or "idi'sturbing any "of 'the -othergarments. "It. is'iilcewise true that =a-garment may beplaced uponthhangeriiranemptycl'amp without disturbing-any-garment=-already held bythe hanger. v

The hook it" by means of -which'the hanger is supported from a clothesrod or other-suitable support is of conventional shape and its lower endprojects through a hole- 42 in the-top curved endy28 of the standardlZ.-The"lowerextnen'i ity ofthe'-h'ook IE is upset to form a' head-44 whichengages the standard" l2 on the inner side-0'1 the looped end 28. Thisconnection permits swivel linger-"pivoting "the standard I 2" about itsvertical axis. Thispivotal mounting is convenient sothat one'side'or'theother of the hanger can be turned to face-a person when a-garment isbeing-added toror removed fromthe hanger.

' Whilathere is shown in Fig.1 1' ahanger having but "four cl-amps, it*Will -'be-='readil y appra 'ciated that the hanger m'ay" be-madeWithtwo or any "number of clamps, the number being limited bypracticalexpediency-so that a garment hung from the'lowermost'clampwould be held sufliciently'off therloor' soas 'not t'o be in the way'ofshoes or any other 'artiole-ofattire which customarily is'placed uponthe floor o'fa closet. It is preferable,- of course, that the hanger beprovided with an'even number'oflclampsso that the alternatearrangementcan be carried out completely and the same number officlampprovided upon each side-of the hanger. 1

"In FigsJB to'4 there is illustrated a second form of the inventionwhich is-simi-lar 'i-nits'utility and principle to'the'formshow-n inFigs.'.1and 2 arid in which the standard and the clamping elements aremade from a single piece. ots-sheet metal. In this modification thestandard &5 is flat and" has its width running parallel to thelongitudinal axes of the clamps M. Each of the clamps M (Figsf 3 td 5)comprises a'pair ofverticallyfiat barsor"arms -48 and 5Bf-the arms'fiilhaving-an innerportion52 and an outerend 54 which are integral with' thestandardifi. The

. outer portions and the! freeends of: the bars 48 are provided withdiverging ends 55 to1'per- =mit the 1 easy insertion of:agarment-b'etween the bars and 50;

The portions =52 and 54 ofthe inner iarm SU are-formed withi-ntegralconnecting'portions 58 'which are bent toward the standard 46 and-areintegral" therewith. J'Ihese' portions 58 and the standard 46 areadjacent arr-outward bendtll in the arms 48. This constructionprovid'esfor a greater -"-spacir-ig*=between the arms M8 and 50 adjacentthe center of each of the clamps M to allow: s'ufiicient space for themultiple thick nesses of cloth at the side seams of trousers.

At their closed Or inner ends the arms 48 and 50 are formed withintegral loops '52 which are similar to and perform the same functionsas the loops 34. Theshape and construction of these clamps provideinherent spring pressure which urges the arms 48 and 5!] toward eachother so that a clamping pressure may be exerted on the garmentsupported by the hanger.

The hanger illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 can be made extremely readily bya simple blanking and bending process comprising comparatively few stepsand thus is relativel inexpensive to manufacture.

The upper end of the standard 46 is formed with a closed loop portion64, integral with the body of the standard 46 (Fig. 5). The loop 64 ispierced at 66 to provide a hole for the insertion of lower end 68 of ahook it, simila to the hook l6 of the embodiment of Fig. 1. The hook itis prevented fro-m sliding freely through the hole 66 by a loopedportion '12 which engages within the loop 64. The wire loop 12 pivotsfreely with in the enclosure 64 and provides a swivel arrangement forthe hanger.

From the foregoing description it is clear that there is provided bythis invention a garment hanger particularly adapted for mens trousersand womens skirts which attains all of the objects claimed for it in theopening paragraphs of this specification. While there are but two' formsof the invention shown in the drawings and described in thespecification, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that othermodifications and forms can be made without departing from the spiritand scope of this invention.

What is new and claimed by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A garment hanger adapted to hold two or more garments comprising agenerally vertically arranged central standard, a plurality of verti-ically spaced garment clamps secured to the standard, said garment clampsbeing arranged with vertically adjacent clamps positioned on oppositesides of the standard so that a garment held by a clamp on one side ofthe standard will have its lower hanging portion overlying the upperportion of a garment hung from a lower clamp on the same side of thestandard and so that garments held by clamps on opposite sides of thestandard will not overlie each other, and means for removably hangingthe standard from a fixed support such as a clothes rod.

2. A garment hanger adapted to hold two or more garments comprising agenerally vertically arranged central standard, a plurality ofvertically spaced garment clamps supported by the standard, said garmentclamps being arranged with vertically adjacent clamps positioned onopposite sides of the standard so that a garment held by a clamp on oneside of the standard will have its lower hanging portion overlying theupper portion of a garment hung from a lower clamp on the same side ofthe standard and so that garments held by clamps on opposite sides ofthe standard will not overlie each other, and means for removablyhanging the standard from a fixed support such as a clothes rod, saidmeans being pivotally secured to the standard so that the latter may beturned about its vertical axis while hung from the fixed support.

3. A garment hanger adapted to hold two or more garments comprising agenerally vertically arranged central standard, a plurality ofvertically spaced garment clamps supported by and formed integrally withthe standard, said garment'clamps being arranged with verticallyadjacent clamps positioned' on opposite sides of the standard so'that agarment held by a clamp on one side of the standard will have its lowerhanging portion overlying the upper portion of a garment hung from, alower clamp on the same side of the standard and so that garments heldby clamps on opposite sides of the standard will not overlie each other,and means for removably hanging the standard from a fixed support suchas a clothes rod.

4. A garment hanger adapted to hold two or more garments comprising agenerally vertically arranged standard formed of a wire loop havingsubstantially parallel vertically extending sides, a plurality ofvertically spaced garment clamps, each garment clamp comprising a wiremember bent back upon itself so as to have a closed end and an open endand a pair of arms, each of said arms being bowed slightly outwardly atapproximately its midpoint, each clamp being secured to the standardsides by one arm at points adjacent the two sides of the bowed outportion, said garment clamps being arranged with vertically adjacentclamps positioned on opposite sides of the standard so that a garmentheld by a clamp on one side of the standard will have its lower hangingportion-overlying the upper portion of a garment hung from a lower c ampon the same side of the standard and so that garments held by clamps onopposite sides of the standard will not overlie each other, and meansfor removably hanging the standard from a fixed support such as aclothes rod.

5. A garment hanger adapted to hold two or more garments comprising agenerally vertically arranged standard formed of a wire loop havingsubstantially parallel vertically extending sides, a plurality ofvertically spaced garment clamps, each garment clamp comprising aU-shaped wire member having a closed end and an open end, each clampbeing secured to both of the vertically extending sides of the standard,said garment clamps being arranged with vertically adjacent clampspositioned on opposite sides of the standard so that a garment held by aclamp on one side of the standard will have its lower hanging portionoverlying the upper portion of a garment hung from a lower clamp on thesame side of the standard and so that garments held by clamps onopposite sides of the standard will not overlie each other, and meansfor removably hanging the standard from a fixed support such as aclothes rod.

6. A garment hanger adapted to hold two or more garments comprising agenerally vertically arranged standard formed of a wire element havingsubstantially parallel vertically extending sides, a, plurality ofspaced garment clamps, each garment clamp comprising a wire member bentback upon itself so as to have a closed end and an open end and a pairof garment engaging arms, each of said arms being bowed sightlyoutwardly at approximately its midpoint to accommodate thicker garmentportions such as seams, each clamp having one arm secured to both of thevertically extending sides of the standard at points adjacent the twosides of the bowed out portion, said garment clamps being arranged withadjacent clamps positioned on opposite sides of the standard so that agarment held by a clamp on one side of the standard will have its lower7 8 hanging; portiomloverlymg the uppenfpor-fion of VUNITED STA'I'ESPATENTS a? garment Iwmg iroma, lower clamp aolLQthe same um m side ofthestandard -a:nd -so:-1:hatv garm nts h ld 3173130, skinner g mgbyt-ciampson opposite: siciles-v of: the standardl wil-l =noti=evenlieeachflothemandmeam ion remev'ably .5 )FORE'IGNZVPA'I'ENTS hang=i11g3-th&standard irom a fixed supporhsuoh Number Country .43 1 aszwelothesfnod.1119mm -Au'stria. ...u sept. m,;1sso

- HAROLD J.

l REFERENCES crmn 1.0 3 i'rhe? f611owmgrreferencesxarer;of:recnrd :mexhg

